The President of the Republic Filipe Nyusi announced on Friday the goal, for the next five years, of 24,000 tons of annual aquaculture production throughout the countrycompared to 3,000 tons in 2020.

Nyusi announced the new goal at the launch of the Small-Scale Aquaculture Project (PRODAPE), budgeted at $49 million and to be implemented in 23 districts in seven Mozambican provinces, namely Tete, Manica, Sofala, Zambézia, Nampula, Niassa, and Cabo Delgado, generating 17,000 jobs.

"With PRODAPE we are confident that conditions have been created for the country's aquaculture production to become consistent and robust, both at the small-scale community level and business-oriented," Nyusi said,

He said that PRODAPE is a structural and transformational project that marks a turning point in aquaculture activity.

Small-scale fish farmers, rural entrepreneurs and licensees, as well as technical experts, are not only the beneficiaries, but also crucial players in the success of the project, the President added.

Nyusi said the project is part of a structural transformation that reflects the transition from modest, small-scale activity to business-oriented production. "This objective translates into a great leap that will better reposition aquaculture among the priority areas," he stressed.

Despite the great potential, Nyusi pointed out that aquaculture production remains densely concentrated in Gaza, Manica and Tete provinces, accounting for almost 70% of national production.

He argued that low production results from poor access to quality food, lack of infrastructure such as delivery centers, and laboratory certification of the quality of aquaculture catches, among other reasons.

Nyusi believed that PRODAPE will accelerate production and change the current profile along the aquaculture value chain. He made a strong appeal to all stakeholders in the project to ensure the evolution towards commercial and sustainable aquaculture.

He also called for the adoption of a different paradigm expressed in the rapid licensing of productive activity, the elimination of bureaucracy, and rapid decision-making, as well as clear zoning of fishing areas to avoid conflicts. Project managers, he said, must also ensure the transfer of know-how to the communities.